London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Poplar 1934
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Poplar, Metropolitan Borough]
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114
Verminous Persons in Common Lodging Houses, etc.
The number of persons from Common Lodging Houses and Seamen's Lodging Houses, etc., cleansed at the Council's Cleansing Station, Glaucus Street, during the year was:—
| Lodging House, etc. | Male. | Female. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 196, Bow Road | — | — | — |
| 65, Bow Lane | — | — | — |
| 378, Old Ford Road | — | — | — |
| 38, Pennyfields | — | — | — |
| Salvation Army Home, Bow Road | — | — | — |
| ,, ,, Hostel, Garford Street | 23 | — | 23 |
| 411, East India Dock Road | — | — | — |
| 23 | — | 23 | |
| From Common Lodging Houses without the Borough of Poplar (by agreement with L.C.C. at a charge of is. per person cleansed) | 1 | — | 1 |
| Totals | 24 | — | 24 |
For cleansing of verminous rooms see page 59 •
Public Health Education.
Report by Mr. T. Wigley.
Disease has always been a problem with which man has been concerned
from the earliest days. Remains from the Stone Age leave no doubt
about the terrible headaches from which primitive man must have
suffered, since he was willing to have his skull opened with stone knives
to "let out the devils," and Egyptian mummies show the same signs of
arterio-sclerosis which may be found in all too many modern men.
Even in those distant days prevention and cure must have gone hand-inhand
facing the grim facts of disease, but the fight was very unequal and
many perished. It has been suggested that much of the veneration and
respect accorded to grey hairs in comparatively recent days was due to
the difficulty of living long enough for one's hair to lighten in colour; it
was, in fact, a tribute to survival in difficult times.